Konkurencja i konsument · 2.12.1997

``Made in USA'' and Other U.S. Origin Claims

The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') has conducted a comprehensive review of ``Made in USA'' and other U.S. origin claims in product advertising and labeling. Historically, the Commission has held that a product must be wholly domestic or all or virtually all made in the United States to substantiate an unqualified ``Made in USA'' claim. As part of its review, which began in 1995, the Commission sought public comment and conducted a two-day public workshop. On May 7, 1997, the Commission solicited public comment on Proposed Guides for the Use of U.S. Origin Claims (``Proposed Guides''). Under the Proposed Guides, a marketer making an unqualified U.S. origin claim would have been required to have a reasonable basis substantiating that the product was substantially all made in the United States. To give further guidance as to what constitutes a reasonable basis for making a ``Made in USA'' claim, the Proposed Guides set forth two ``safe harbors'' under which an unqualified U.S. origin claim would not be considered deceptive. The Proposed Guides also addressed qualified claims, claims regarding specific processes and parts, multiple-item sets, and changes in cost a